Despite the world grinding to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, indie game studios and ‘AAA’ studios alike continued their work from afar and set new bars for VR gaming. Although some of the games we were looking forward to in 2020 were delayed, the good news is there’s a steady stream of content coming down the pipeline next year.

Here’s a look at 11 highly anticipated titles slated to arrive in 2021.

Hitman 3

  • Platform: PSVR-compatible on PS4/PS5
  • Developer: IO Interactive
  • Release date: January 20th, 2021

Studio description: Agent 47 returns as a ruthless professional in Hitman 3 for the most important contracts of his career. When the dust settles, 47 and the world he inhabits will never be the same again.

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife

  • Platform: SteamVR, PSVR, Quest, Rift
  • Developer: Fast Travel Games
  • Release date: ‘early 2021’

Studio description: Even the dead are terrified inside the Barclay Mansion. As a Wraith, use your supernatural powers to unravel its secrets and hide from the sinister Spectres. Afterlife is a first person VR horror exploration game set in the World of Darkness universe.

Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual!

  • Platform: Quest, ‘PC VR’
  • Developer: Happy Giant
  • Release date: ‘the first half of 2021’

Studio description: Sam & Max: This Time It’s Virtual! is the Freelance Police’s first original game in over a decade, and the pair’s first foray into VR. The game’s development team includes several team members that worked on the original Sam & Max: Hit the Road by LucasArts in 1992, as well as the Telltale series. The new action adventure title is slated to come out for VR headsets in the first half of 2021.

The Climb 2

  • Platform: Quest
  • Developer: Crytek
  • Release date: ‘coming soon’

Studio description: The thrill of climbing comes alive with The Climb 2–explore a new city setting and exhilarating new maps with breathtaking views. Ascend grand peaks, navigate vast caves, climb skyscrapers, and discover hidden shortcuts as you find your path to the top. Compete with friends and conquer leaderboards in asynchronous multiplayer modes. From exploring mountain environments to scaling urban settings, feel the rush of climbing without ropes, and experience breathtaking vistas as you scale new heights.

Baba Yaga

  • Platform: Quest
  • Developer: Baobab Studios
  • Release date: ‘coming soon’

Studio description: Baobab’s newest VR experience, Baba Yaga, invites viewers to be a main character in a haunting fairytale world completely reimagined. Their choices determine the ending of this story of love, fortitude and magic. Sometimes a force for evil, sometimes a force for good, the enigmatic witch Baba Yaga uses her powers to stop the villagers whose settlement encroaches upon her enchanted Forest.

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Delayed Games

Lone Echo II

  • Platform: Rift
  • Developer: Ready at Dawn
  • Release date: previously Q1 2020, now 2021

Studio description: Jack and Liv are back in Lone Echo II. Return to the rings of Saturn in this highly-anticipated sequel, to unravel the mysteries of Lone Echo and journey deeper into space – past the very boundaries of time itself.

LOW-FI

  • Platform: SteamVR
  • Developer: IRIS VR
  • Release date: previously late 2020, now Q1 2021

Studio description: You’re the sheriff of cityblock 303, a retro-futuristic cyberpunk slum where the only inhabitants of note are other “low-fi”. Humans too poor to jack into the platform, and rusting old robots that didn’t achieve the intelligence singularity. What you do with your time is up to you. Are you a good cop, hotshot?

Vertigo 2

  • Platform: SteamVR
  • Developer: Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, Errol Bucy
  • Release date: delayed to 2021

Studio description: Vertigo 2 is a single-player VR adventure. Explore the depths of the vast Quantum Reactor as you descend to finish your journey home.

Sniper Elite VR

  • Platform: SteamVR, PSVR, Quest, Rift
  • Developer: Rebellion, Just Add Water
  • Release date: ‘coming soon’

Studio description: A dedicated VR stealth-action experience from the makers of Battlezone and the BAFTA-nominated Sniper Elite 4, in partnership with Just Add Water. Fight for the Italian Resistance in a daring mission to rid World War 2 Sicily of the Nazi U-boat menace.

After The Fall

  • Platform: SteamVR, PSVR
  • Developer: Vertigo Games
  • Release date: previously 2020, now ‘Early 2021’

Studio description: Explore the remains of a civilization ground to a halt in an alternate 1980s, craft a range of ranged and melee weapons, and wield devastating powers with real-life movements. Go solo or join up with players worldwide as you face relentless hordes and colossal bosses in a bid to take back the city.

Panzer Dragoon Voyage Record

  • Platform: PC VR, ‘Console VR’, ‘Standalone VR’
  • Developer: Wild Inc.
  • Release date: crowdfunding & release delayed until 2021

Studio description: The records of past voyage is coming… Omnibus of Panzer Dragoon / Zwei / Saga trilogy for VR from Wildman Inc.

Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments below!

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Ron

    Low-FI!!

  • AlexLogin0ff

    Lone Echo II, Sniper Elite VR, After The Fall .. and more Undead Citadel

    • Ryan

      WTF happened to Lone Echo II? I’ve been looking forward to that the most. Radio silence from Oculus.

      • S Ander

        Safe to assume they are trying to get it to work with the Quest(2)

      • shadow9d9
      • johann jensson

        It gets downgraded to work on Quest2 as we speak. I’ve lost hope for this game (Lone Echo and HL: Alyx were the only 2 games in the VR catalogue that were as good as PC games – no wonder i used VorpX most of the time in my year of owning a Rift S – but i digress…)

  • Hope resident evil vilage will annonce VR. Cause this game is not so groundbreaking to me.

  • shadow9d9

    Wraith has you holding a camera as a spirit right?

  • Yeshaya

    Did Stress Level Zero give any estimate for their Quest Boneworks game, or is it just “coming eventually”?

    • dmbfk

      Yes I’m far more excited about the Quest Boneworks game than this uninspiring RoadToVR upcoming doodoo list

  • xyzs

    Except Lone Echo 2, Mehhh.
    Nothing truly amazing ahead.
    At best: quite interesting.

    Concerning Lone Echo 2, I hope all this delay mean extra high quality game and HLA level graphics.

    • Ad

      Probably just means it’ll be on Quest.

    • johann jensson

      Unfortunately it means that it will be heavily downgraded to work on the puny mobile hardware of Quest 2.

  • Rosko

    Time to sell my headset by the looks of it.

    • Charissa Brown

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    • johann jensson

      I did exactly that. I’ll come back to VR when there’s games of the quality and on the same scale as Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. (And when VorpX works with ALL the PC games, not only 80% of them.)

      • dj942009

        They already are the quality of Cyberpunk…

        • Ama Trykowski

          I know at least 4 AAA titles.
          Alien Isolations
          Half Life Alyx
          The Walking Dead S&S
          Lone Echo

          And 3 AA titles.
          Boneworks
          Asgard’s Wrath
          From Other Suns

          • the vast majority

            You could also add “The Forest” , Ace Combat 7 and Resident Evil 7 to that list. Kind of amazing how many good games have been released.

  • Ad

    Myst

    Radio Commander VR

    Cooking Simulator VR

    Rhythm of the Universe: Ionia

    Maskmaker

    Traffic Jams

    DeMagnete VR

    Captain Toonhead vs the Punks from Outer Space

    Undead Citadel

    Dolphin Trainer VR

    Now There Be Goblins

    • ASHOT3359

      Do you want this games without vr? If the answer is “no”, than it all goes in a goddamn trushbin!

    • Sinshi Uzumaki

      Myst has already been released.

      • Ad

        Not on mobile.

        • Sinshi Uzumaki

          on Quest

  • DanDei

    Depressing outlook for SteamVR users. Half the market shifted towards Quest and the rest is just not making any real progress compared to VR games from three years ago. Here is hoping that the big publishers finally go to show some lager scale productions than Ubisofts tiny VR projects. Star Wars Squadrons was a nice surprise by EA. At this point I would gladly take half-baked VR ports like Fallout 4 just to have some big content chunks with quality assets that don’t look like shit. Come on game devs! I am spoiled now after Alyx.

    • Totius

      Yeah man.. one step forward and three steps backwards..
      The panorama was so much more exciting back to 2017.. Fallout Vr, Skyrim Vr, Doom Vfr, Lone Echo, LA Noire (what an amazing game this was, after it was properly patched)..
      I am also a bit worried that Lone Echo II might have been a bit downgraded to make it compatible with quest..
      My only hopes completely relies on Rockstar and their “we are not done with VR”

      • johann jensson

        I am also a bit worried that Lone Echo II might have been a bit downgraded to make it compatible with quest..

        That’s guaranteed at this point.

  • Agree on all of them. But not on Baba Yaga… I mean, it is good, but a bit disappointing for the real capabilities of Baobab Studios

  • JDawg

    I’m excited for Fallout 4 VR finally being playable with a RTX 3080

    Fallout 4 VR with a Wabbajack mod list. Now we’re talking!

    • undecided

      Couldn’t get a 3080 so I had to pony up for a 3090, I am going to give FO4VR a try now, it may be playable as you say.

      • Ama Trykowski

        It was even playable with a 2080ti without any hassle on my Index.

        • undecided

          Yes, with a few tweaks, it’s playing great with Q2 and 3090.

  • oomph

    No ESO
    They should make ESO also in VR in addition to current profile

  • patfish

    VR Gaming is doomed! …thanks to Facebook.

  • CoolDude19

    Eh, some of these look pretty interesting, especially Vertigo 2 and Lone Echo 2, but these are all just VR versions of existing franchises. 2019/2020 were really good years for VR, so I guess will just have to wait a year or two for any new major breakthroughs. :/